


Tell Me How It's Not True

by Fandomcraziness22



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:15:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26428477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandomcraziness22/pseuds/Fandomcraziness22
Summary: That amazing fight scene from 6x17 between Mirror-Iris and Barry, with all the angstTitle from "Still Have You" by Freya Ridings
Relationships: Barry Allen/Iris West
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	Tell Me How It's Not True

Barry has just made it back to his apartment when he hears Iris (not the real one, his mind supplies) say, “Success is assured.” He stops just inside the door and shakes his head. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Barry says to the imposter.

She takes a small step forward, her attention drawn to him. He takes advantage, narrowing his eyes. “Where’s my wife?” he demands. Barry watches the imposter smirk a little, and his fury is ignited. But she says nothing. He waits only a moment longer before saying, “I’ll ask you one more time. Where’s my wife?”

Not-Iris turns and shoots black goop at the mirror behind her, which Barry registers as Bloodwork’s black blood. It covers the mirror for a moment, then disappears into the mirror, leaving its surface just as reflective as a normal mirror.

“What are you doing?” Barry faintly asks, concerned as to whatever plan Not-Iris has concocted. She throws the vial down onto their chessboard and stalks forward a few steps closer to him. Barry has only a moment to wonder before she makes a crossing motion with her hands, and mirror blades form at the ends of her arms.

Not-Iris yells and charges him. He dodges, but she continues to swipe at him. She pushes forward and he backs up, still dodging her increasingly fast and dangerous slashes. Not-Iris knocks some plastic glasses off the shelf to Barry’s left in her charge. She swipes at him again and cuts into his arm, leaving a nasty gash. Barry backs up quickly, grunting in pain from the hit.

She slashes towards his head, and Barry can’t avoid it this time. He’s been trying not to use his speed to dodge her attacks, but he pulls on his speed to stay alive. Her slash hits the lamp instead of his head, knocking it onto the floor. Barry continues to back up, evading her continued attacks. She stops for a second, and they both breathe heaving breaths. Barry checks his arm, grunting a little in pain.

“She says you’re always gonna be in her way.” Not-Iris speaks for the first time. “And now you’re too slow to stop me.” Barry’s face contorts as he realizes she’s not the one in control, and in the realization that she’s probably right about his speed.

“Whose way?” Barry questions. “Who’s making you do this?” Because it hurts him to fight a version of his wife, even if she’s evil, and he needs to know who the real mastermind is. He can’t help being concerned about her, even if she is not his wife.

But Not-Iris simply pulls back and thrusts her mirror-blade at his face. Barry blocks it and begins to fight back, but his attempts don’t yield much. She lands a slash to his cheek, causing blood to spray into their kitchen behind him. He’s able to block a few more of her jabs, but then she catches him in the leg, causing him to stumble back a few paces.

Barry’s hand leans on a chair behind him as they stop to breathe again. Not-Iris wipes her sweat with her blade, and Barry stands up straighter as his breath catches.

Then Not-Iris turns to her left at the mirror by her feet. She pushes her blade into the mirror, and Barry’s other leg turns to fire as he is hit from a mirror at his feet. He yells in pain and moves forward, turning to look at the mirror the attack came from. Barry sees the blade retract into the mirror, and begins to realize the power Not-Iris might have. He’s stopped from saying anything by the pain in his shoulder, another mirror behind him. He stumbles away and into the entryway where they began their standoff, clutching at his leg and shoulder.

Not-Iris walks towards him, her face a blank mask. Barry stands straight again, determined to stop her. His anger radiates off of him. Not-Iris speaks again. “You should really mind your surroundings.”

Barry’s confusion lasts only as long as he follows her eyes upward, to the mirror straight above him. With a mighty crash, the mirror shatters, and Barry is forced to cover his face as the shards come shooting towards him. Time seems to slow down. He can feel himself getting hit again and again from her blades, piercing his skin as she uses the fragments of the mirror raining down to hit him. The final strike comes as both blades penetrate his sides at the same time. Barry’s head wrenches back from the pain and he screams.

Time catches up, and Barry crumples to the ground with a gasp as the last of the shards settle around him. He groans and reaches for his side, barely registering Not-Iris’ blades melting away. He grimaces in pain, glaring at her, but can’t hold the glare as the pain continues to increase. His voice goes down into the rug, but she hears him all the same. “Where’s my wife?” he grits out. His eyes squeeze shut of their own accord.

“She’s all you can think about, huh?” Not-Iris coolly states, taking a step forward. Barry rolls onto his back, unable to stay in one position for too long. “What do you think about me, Barry?” she continues, as his hands find the leg of the table. If he could use the table to pull himself up, he would, but his wounds sting and he rolls back again.

Not-Iris keeps talking, stalking towards him. “All those days…” she’s now at his side, standing over him. “Weeks. It wasn’t her, it was me.” She’s leaning on the table, bending over him, watching as he writhes about in pain.

“Enjoying meals together.” Barry’s mind fights against her words as they hit home.

She kneels down next to him at her next words. “Talking about our day.” Barry lifts his head to look at her, to try and stop her, to do anything, but he is frozen in fear and pain, unable to move.

Not-Iris puts one hand next to his head and the other next to his other side, leaning over him and moving her body almost on top of his as she continues, “Sharing your bed.”

Barry’s heart breaks as the truth of it crashes over him. He can’t move, can’t stop her. “Shut up,” he breathes out, unable to muster any strength to get her off. He keeps panting from the pain, and she just gives a little laugh, reveling in her position of power.

They stay that way for a minute, her staring him down and him unable to do anything except breathe through his pain. Barry decides that this is the worst torture he has ever faced. His wife is out there, somewhere, and he didn’t even notice she was gone. Now this imposter leans over him, eyes raking up and down his body greedily, and he is in such pain that he can’t even attempt to push her off of him. His speed is almost gone. He’s helpless here.

Then Not-Iris grimaces, and then groans in pain as she shakes her head. She gasps and moves out of his face, continuing to groan. Barry relishes in his moment of space, letting his head hit the ground again and squeezing his eyes shut against the pain.

But as Not-Iris keeps moaning and breathing hard, a hand pressed to her head, Barry scoots a tiny bit backwards, attempting to sit up. He backs away from her as she rocks back onto her heels, both hands now at her head. Barry scoots back even farther, and Not-Iris breathes even sharper and faster. He wonders what happened to make her that way. It must be whoever is controlling her, he guesses. But then her hands leave her head and she starts scratching at her arm. Barry watches her in confusion, getting up onto one elbow.

She moves her hands back to her head, then starts yelling, “Suffer! Suffer. Suffer.” Barry gets to his knees, watching her closely. He’s not sure what exactly is happening, only that Not-Iris is clearly in pain and clearly not in control. As she grits out another “suffer,” his eyes find the mirror to his left. And he realizes who could be causing this breakdown.

“Iris?” he croaks out, wondering if she can hear him. The woman before him continues to recite the word painfully, and he realizes he can try and talk her down, that she has a connection to the real Iris, because she is part of Iris. He hates seeing any version of his wife in pain, and he can’t stop her physically, so Barry turns to the one power that he can always rely on: his words.

“Iris,” he begins. She looks at him, tears starting to form in her eyes. He crouches towards her as he speaks. “I won’t fight you. I won’t fight you anymore.”

She breaks his gaze, staring at the ground as her breath quickens again. She groans in agony, but lifts her head again when he speaks. “You were made from Iris.” He glances at the mirror again, trying to pull pieces together in his mind. “A part of her heart is inside you.”

They are both on their hands and knees, both in pain, both staring each other down. She spasms as another wave hits her, but Barry keeps talking. “I’ve seen you be kind. I’ve seen you laugh. I know that wasn’t all a lie.”

She groans again, but her eyes stay locked on him. “You can be more than this,” Barry pleads. “Not Iris. Yourself.”

And he can see his words ring true for her. She gasps for breath, not looking away. He keeps going. “You have to want it.” He can see tears in her eyes. “You have to choose it.”

She nods, still heaving breaths. She takes a moment, then gasps out, “I choose me.”

They stare each other down again, Barry relieved that she understood him. Then she surprises him.

“Go find Iris.”

Those simple words give him hope to move.

“Go find her, Barry. Go save Iris.” She can’t apologize for her past, for what she’s done to him, but she can give him hope.

“Go.”

She starts to stand, then freezes as cracks form on her face. She gasps and yells, pain like she’s never felt before licking up her body. Barry races to catch her as she falls, not willing to leave her like this. He cradles her cracking body as she suffers through her demise.

A calm sweeps over Not-Iris after a moment. “Barry,” she whispers. “I feel alive.” He gazes down at her, confusion and concern in his eyes. She says it one more time. “I feel alive.” And then Not-Iris shatters into a million mirror fragments. Barry scrambles back, shocked at this turn of events. He reaches forward hesitantly, but no trace of Not-Iris remains.

The mirror behind him makes a bubbling noise, and Barry looks over to see it being covered in Bloodwork’s goop. It turns completely black, and he is once again frozen in sick agitation. A woman steps out of the mirror, looking gaunt but amazed none the less. The black goo fades away as Barry finds the strength to stagger to his feet, ready for this new threat.

The woman speaks. “Look what you made me do.” Barry stares at her in confusion. For a moment nothing happens. Then Barry begins to speed toward her to stop her. Just as fast, she pulls a piece of the mirror from the ceiling and sends it hurtling towards Barry. It hits him straight in the stomach, and he crumples to the ground with a yell. Vaguely he hears her apologize, but the shard has incapacitated him more than his fight with Not-Iris. He gasps, trying to bring air into his damaged body. He blinks rapidly, trying not to lose consciousness.

“This didn’t have to be like this, Flash.” She yells at him and steps forward a few feet. “You don’t know what it’s like in there. I had to get out.”

Barry can barely think straight, but he has to know. “Iris,” he grits out. “Where is she?”

“She’s still in the world I left behind,” the woman answers. “Along with the rest of my insurance policy: Chief Singh and your friend, Kamilla.” Barry’s eyes widen at this information, but he’s in no position to do anything about it, so he files it away to tell the others.

The woman scratches her arm, like Not-Iris had, as she says, “They’re safe. How long is up to you.” Barry keeps gasping on the floor, convulsing in agony. A small part of his brain knows he has to keep her talking.

“So.. what, now you’re gonna kill me?” He has to know if this is her plan. Because if so, it’s working.

She gives a small head shake and says, “No, there’s no need for that. You’re wounded.” As if to remind him, his hand comes to his newest injury, feeling the blood on his fingertips.

She keeps going. “You lost your speed, and your healing is not what it used to be.” That’s true, an annoying part of Barry’s mind agrees. He could feel it all throughout the fight with Not-Iris, and even more so now, as his body wants to heal from the shard she threw at him.

“You’re not much of a threat, are you?” She finishes, kneeling down next to him, unease filling Barry once again at being cornered.

“You just stay out of my way, Flash, and I’ll stay out of yours,” she threatens. Barry can do nothing but groan as she stands and says, “I have unfinished business to attend to.” She is suddenly gone, moving into a mirror. She keeps talking as she changes from mirror to mirror. “And a whole new world to liberate.” And with that she’s gone, and Barry is left is silence. There are no more threats coming tonight. He finally allows himself to lay completely still, and pass out.


End file.
